Your Love Is A Song
by drowning in technicolor dreams
Summary: AU: "The dawn is fire bright against the city lights." Massie Block has never really kept her eyes wide open. Derrick Harrington has, and that's how he saw her. Read and Review.
1. trapped inside your misery

**I know, I know, it's another story, and I'm already a crappy updater blahblahblah.**

**But, please, my head will **_**explode**_** if I don't get this out.**

_Okay, so I just finished The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. And I thought it was brilliant. Could be one of the best books I will ever read._

_And then I got inspired._

_And I've always wanted to try one of those clichéd stories wherein the girl does something and she ends up living somewhere with a relative who's a boy and a manwhore ends up falling in love with her._

_So I fused those two together, and ended up with this._

_Let's see how good I am at a cliché, yes?_

_Okay, chapter titles are just whatever. Whatever song I'm listening to when I start. _

_I wasn't supposed to use this song as the story title…I was supposed to use When I Look At You by Miley Cyrus, since it fits so perfectly…but then that's the song used for The Last Song, and I don't want to use that too. So I used Your Love Is A Song by Switchfoot, since it was the next song I listened to._

**DISCLAIMER: Nothing is mine. And this will apply to every single chapter.**

_**trapped inside your misery  
**_everything you're not – demi lovato

_New York police do not care whether or not you are cold, _Massie Block said, rubbing her arms. She was in jail, and she was wearing a sleeveless dress. It wasn't a very long dress either. She was _cold. _

They came just after midnight, and the chaos of inebriated teenagers escaping trapped Massie in the house. They caught her and a girl and boy she barely knew, and three more boys she didn't know; it was a party, do you really expect her to know everyone? They put the six teenagers in separate cells, and Massie knows that she would be the one that would be questioned the most. She was the only sober one; she just had one glass of vodka. She was planning to drink at 12:51, just for the sake of it.

She was right. A few minutes later, a police officer led her in front of his desk, and started prying her with questions.

"Who threw the party?"

"I don't know," she said honestly. She only heard about the party from Skye Hamilton, and Skye mentioned nothing about the party thrower. The only thing she knew was that he was one of the Grayson Academy boys, and nothing more.

"Nothing at all?"

"He goes to Grayson. That's it," she admitted. She figured lying would get her nowhere; plus, she hates lying.

"No name?"

"The only thing I know about him is that he goes to Grayson, and he apparently throws the best parties in the Upper East Side," Massie said.

"Okay. Did you know that the house was broken into?"

"Nope. I thought it was his house," Massie said. She didn't know that the party thrower just trespassed into the house. That the actual owners were a middle-aged couple, with no children living at home, who went to Tuscany for a week.

"Do any of these boys go to Grayson?" the officer asked, indicating the four boys they caught.

"He does," Massie said, pointing to the boy with the light brown hair. She saw him once, wearing his school uniform.

"Well, Ms. Block. It sounds like you're…innocent. I take it you've already called your mother using your phone call?" he asked.

"Yes." She sighed. Her mother was most definitely not happy.

"Then we just have to wait for her, then you can go."

(*)

Scratch that. Her mother wasn't just _not happy. _She was livid. Furious. _Seething._

"Mom, you heard the officer. I'm innocent!" Massie argued when they got back to their penthouse.

"It's not about whether you're guilty or innocent! It's about you sneaking out to party then ending up in jail! Do you know what this will do to your future? This could go on you permanent records!"

"I was there for an hour, with no charges," Massie reasoned. Her mother just doesn't listen to her. She never does.

"Still! What if they kept you longer? What if the owners pressed charges? You'll never get into an Ivy League!"

"Whatever, Mom! That's all you care about! Ivy Leagues and the future. You never even asked me if I was fine!" Massie exploded, feeling ten times better that she finally let it all out. "By the way, I'm not fine. It was cold, I had no jacket on, and I think I might get sick."

Her mother was quiet for a minute. Then she said the worst things Massie could ever hear.

"The day after tomorrow, you're staying with your Aunt Sandra. You're going to Westchester. I've already arranged it. You'll stay there as long as it takes for you to realize and repent for all your mistakes," her mother said coldly.

"What?! No! NO! You can't send me to Westchester! You have no right to do that!"

"Massie, you are my seventeen-year-old daughter. I have all the necessary right to do that."

(*)

Massie woke up, and the first thing she saw was the view of the sky from her window. It was a peaceful Sunday morning, and she felt like sleeping back in. Then she remembered what happened last night, and what was going to happen tomorrow. It wasn't such a peaceful Sunday morning anymore.

Then, she heard the music. It was _Moonlight Sonata_ by Beethoven, one of the pieces she frequently used to play.

Did her mother take pleasure in seeing her so frustrated?!

She immediately got out of bed, and stormed out of her room. She reached the source of the music; her mother's DVD.

She angrily pressed the open button, and pulled out the CD. She stormed into the kitchen, where her little sister, Madison, was eating her cereal.

"Why'd you stop the music?" her mother asked casually, like she wasn't sending her own daughter away to a different zip code the next day.

"Cause I hate it," Massie said.

"I told you she wouldn't like it," Madison said, swallowing another spoonful of cereal.

"But I was just—"

"Mom, please, just _stop. _I will never, ever play the piano again, no matter how many times you try to convince me otherwise. I'm done with it. No more. Nobody in this house can play piano music while I'm here," she snapped, then remembered something. "Oh, wait. I'll be gone by tomorrow, so feel free to play every single sonata you have in this house!"

"You'll be gone by tomorrow? Where are you going?" Madison asked, alarmed that no one told her about this.

"Ask Mom," Massie said, before going back to her room, making sure to slam the door _hard._

(*)

After she finished packing, she went out of her room to see her sister begging her mother for something. Her mother shot her a look, making it clear that she blamed Massie for what Madison wanted.

"She wants to go with you to Westchester," her mother said.

If Massie could love only one person, it would be Madison. She would do _anything _for Madison. Anything. Two years ago, at the height of her war with her mother, she used to think about getting emancipated then adopting Madison, leaving her mother alone. Sometimes, when she gets really mad at her mother, she would still think about that future. But she knows that Madison would never approve, seeing as Madison loves their mother. She was the only one who could get along with both people in the house.

"Schmaddie, come here," Massie said gently, leading her sister to her room. Then she noticed that Madison was actually sniffing and wiping away tears.

"I don't want you to go," Madison sniffed.

"Yes, Schmad, I know. But I have to go," Massie said. She thought she was only going to say that for Madison, but she immediately realized that it was true. She _had _to go; it was best for her mother and her to be separated, and Westchester wasn't that bad. She's been there a few times, when she visits her grandparents and cousins during holidays, and during…that time.

She hates talking about it.

Soon, she realized that she was actually looking forward to Westchester; yes, she would leave her sister behind, but if there was one thing she was sure of, it was that her mother would take care of her sister. Yes, she had to leave her friends behind, but she doubted any of them would really care. Massie had really crappy friends. Yes, she had no friends in Westchester except for her cousin, but she was positive that she would make at least one new friend there.

"I _want _to go," Massie said.

**Okay, so I admit that that wasn't the best writing I've done, but it's not that horrible, right?**

**Still worth reading?**


	2. everybody falling down

_**everybody falling down  
**_falling down – space cowboy feat. chelsea korka

Massie Block was glad that the horrendously long travel to Westchester was over.

Her sister was dropped off to a friend's house, seeing as she might get too emotional about letting Massie go. So it was only her and her mother, and the car was suffocating with tension. They were quiet the whole ride, not even looking at each other. And, obviously, it was the uncomfortable kind of quiet, the quiet Massie despised.

She stepped on the gravel sidewalk, and looked up at the Plovert residence. Her uncle was a commercial tycoon, descended from old European nobility, while her mother and her aunt were from old oil money, but the house didn't show it. Yes, it was big, but only if you looked at it long enough. It was certainly not as big as the mansions around it, but that fact made it more special. It was a Mediterranean style house, a pleasing shade of light orange with a dark brown roof. Behind it was the biggest and best garden she has ever seen, and she knew that her aunt liked to tend to it herself; her aunt was the humble twin.

They've been here many times, but usually, they've only stayed for a day; never two. One time, her and her family only stayed for two hours. That was the last time she visited this house. That day was the day of the funeral. She hasn't been here since.

She forced herself to wipe away all the memories of that day. She's done it so much, she thinks she could be an expert.

Massie Block, Expert at Wiping Away Bad Memories.

Her aunt came out of the door, wearing an apron and looking like she just came from baking cookies. Mmm. Massie's mom stopped baking cookies three years ago. Massie already forgot what they tasted like.

Thinking about it, Massie realized that Kendra Block stopped being her mother three years ago.

Massie looked back at her aunt, noting how different she is from Massie's mom. If you put them beside each other, yes, it's easy to see that they have the same face, even though Massie's aunt smiled more. But Massie's aunt was wearing a pastel pink shirt, regular jeans, and an apron. She looked like the embodiment of the perfect housewife. Massie's mom had on a sharp pantsuit and a stern look on her face. The perfect businesswoman.

"Massie! Look how much you've grown in three years!" Massie's aunt said as way of greeting. Katherine Plovert engulfed Massie in a hug.

"Kate," Kendra said, addressing her twin sister as a way of greeting.

"Kendra," Kate said, smiling.

Kendra turned to Massie. "Behave yourself. I'll be back next weekend with Madison."

"Bye, Mom," Massie said, not even bothering with a hug or a kiss on the cheek. Not even a smile.

"Go on in, Massie. Chris is in the living room. Oh, tell him to go out here for a moment, will you?"

Massie nodded, moving towards the trunk of the car to get her luggage out. If there was one "shallow" and "sexist" thing she believed in, it's that females should never carry their own luggage inside when a man is available to carry it in for her. And she also believes in being a gentleman and she finds nothing wrong with being chivalrous.

But seeing as how Chris and her uncle are inside, and she really didn't want to tell them to go out just to bring in her luggage, she would have to do it herself.

"Massie. I also believe in the "luggage carrying equals to men" thing," her aunt said, and Massie smiled. Her first in days.

"Thanks."

She walked to the front door, which was ajar. She gently pushed it and peeked inside, spotting Chris Plovert, her cousin, sitting on the couch in front of the TV. She was positive that he was watching the door open slowly and her uncertain head peep inside, because his eyebrows were lifted up and there was an amused smile on his lips.

"Still the same Massie. You know, you _could _go in. Unless you like standing there, peeking from the door," he said, and Massie stepped in, looking around. Nothing changed much, just a bigger TV, a new DVD player and sound system, and different game consoles scattered on the ground in front of the TV.

"Well, you look different. You got taller. And there's something else, I just can't name it," Chris said.

Massie shrugged, knowing full well what that "something else" was. "Your mom told me to tell you to go out for a moment."

He stood up, and Massie noticed that he was towering over her now, while they were the same height, give or take a few inches, when they last saw each other.

"You got taller, too," Massie commented.

"Yeah? Good. Oh, wait. Do you remember where the guest room is?" he asked. Massie nodded. "Good. That's where you'll be staying."

He went out the front door, and Massie made her way up to the second floor, where she headed right and stopped in front of the third door on the right. She pushed it open, and stepped inside.

She'd only been there once before, but she could tell that it was different. The walls were still the same cream yellow, the floors were the same chocolate colored wood. But the arrangement of the furniture was different. The bed was pushed to the far wall, with the bedside table. Beside that was the desk, which was made with the same dark wood as the bedside table and the floor. Beside the desk, at the corner of the room, was a low bookshelf, also made with the same dark wood. In the middle of the room was a rug, covered with floor pillows, and in front of the rug, across the bed, was a TV. Beside the TV was the door that led outside, and on the other side of the TV was a door that led to the bathroom, and Massie knew that there was a door inside the bathroom that led to the closet

It was simple, yet it was beautiful, with its dark wood furniture and pale cream yellow walls. The guest room was at the corner of the house, giving it two big windows on different walls. One was directly above the desk, while the other was in the middle of the TV and the bed. Sunlight streamed through these two windows, illuminating the room.

She looked out the window in the middle of the TV and the bed. She had an amazing view of the garden and the pool. She smiled. Then she moved to the one above the desk. She had a view of the driveway, and she could see her mother getting in the car while her aunt waved goodbye. Chris was making his way inside the house, carrying her five bags of luggage (she was known to over-pack). Knowing Chris, he was probably too lazy to make a second trip, so he just opted to bring her all her luggage in just one.

A minute later, he was in the guest-room-slash-her-room.

"So, even you believe that guys should carry girls' luggage inside," he said, putting down all her bags on the floor.

"You know, it would've been easier if you just took two trips," Massie said, moving to the pile of bags in the center of the room.

"Meh," he shrugged. "If I can make it in one, why bother making it in two?"

"Can't argue with logic like that."

She spread the five bags on the floor, opening all of them to see which should be put where.

"Sooo…" Chris said, standing inside the doorframe.

Massie looked up. "Yeah?"

"Remember when we were young, and I asked you if you wanted to meet my friends, and you got mad at me because you thought that I thought you had no friends or that you were incapable of making your own…" he started. Massie smiled at the memory. They were nine, and Massie genuinely thought he was insulting her. After that day, he never offered for her to meet his friends anymore.

"Chris. I was nine. I'm seventeen. I'm more mature than that. Of course you can introduce me to your friends," Massie said, smiling.

He breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God. My girlfriend wanted to meet you, and she told our friends, and our friends wanted to meet you too, and…yeah."

Relief washed over Massie, too. She was worried about meeting one friend, and here was her cousin, offering to introduce her to a whole bunch. "Thanks."

"There's still something different about you that I can't place," he said, scrutinizing her.

Probably owing to the fact that their mothers were twins, Massie looked like Chris. Massie looked like her mother. Chris looked like his mother. Most people just don't see it at first because Chris is a boy and Massie is a girl. They had the same nose, the same lips, and, once upon a time before braces, they had the same teeth..actually, their teeth still looked somewhat alike. They had the same smile, their faces were the same shape, although Massie's face was rounder. Chris just had the boy versions of her looks, except for the eyes. They had their fathers' eyes, which meant that Chris had bright blue eyes while Massie had amber ones.

They even had the same hair color.

"Your hair!" Chris realized, as if he read her mind.

"What about it?" Massie asked, knowing full well what he meant. He crossed the room and stood in front her, squinting his eyes, studying her hair. He gently grabbed a lock of hair and studied it.

"Right. It's dyed. Raven black. Did you dislike our hair so much, Twin?" he asked, using an old joke they had between them. They used to call themselves twins, since they looked alike.

"Not at all," she said. And it was true. She loved her golden brown hair. The dyeing was a result of on of her many bouts of anger. She looked at herself in the mirror after a _big _fight with her mother, and she noticed that she looked just like Kendra. So she immediately went to a salon to dye her hair, since that was the only thing she could really change.

"Then why?" he asked.

"It's a long, stupid story that I'd rather not tell you. Can we just pretend that I've had black hair ever since we were born?" Massie requested, hoping he'd say yes.

"Sure," he said uncertainly.

"Thank you!"

"Okay. Well, you wanna meet my friends later after you unpack? My girlfriend's getting impatient," he said.

"Sure."

**Hmm… how was that?**

**Do they seem **_**too **_**close for cousins who have been apart for three years? I mean, they were really close when they were kids. And…they exchanged emails, and the occasional IM…**


	3. so let it out and let it in

**Amazingly fast update!**

**Please note the sarcasm in my words.**

_**so let it out and let it in  
**_hey jude – the beatles

"You know, you kind of look like Chris," the redhead said the moment she saw Massie. Massie had been in the Plovert residence for approximately three hours—you know, catching up, making herself feel at home, etc, etc. All she can say is that she's liked those three hours more than the last three years.

Massie looked at the girl, finding it weird that _that's _the first thing that came out of her mouth. People don't even really notice that they look alike. The girl had flaming red hair; you know, the kind of hair that you could recognize from a mile away. She had bright green eyes and freckles on her cheeks. She had a lean body and was probably three inches taller than Massie. She stepped forward, holding out her hand. Massie tentatively took it.

"Dylan Marvil, Chris's girlfriend," she said.

"Um, Massie Block…Chris's cousin," Massie said, and Dylan smiled. It was a warm and friendly smile.

"Hi, Massie, so good to meet you. You know, the moment Chris told me you were coming, I immediately wanted to meet you. You wanna know why?"

"Uh…okay?"

"Because you pulled out his chair from under him, put the chair on top of him, and sat down. All because he accidentally folded the front cover of your coloring book. And it was a small fold, only recognizable by you. And then you said you'd let him out only if he dressed up like a girl and pretended to be your life-sized doll."

Massie looked at Chris, who smiled sheepishly. Then she smiled at the memory. "It was fun," she said.

"No, it wasn't," Chris argued.

"Yes, it was," Massie contradicted.

"No."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

"I'm with Massie!" Dylan exclaimed, catching their attention.

"You're my girlfriend! And you only met Massie a minute ago!" Chris said, his eyes getting bigger.

"So?"

Massie silently giggled. Dylan was a very likeable person.

Chris huffed. "Fine, be that way. When are the others coming?"

"I honestly have no idea," Dylan said, shrugging. Then, her phone rang. She flipped it open, and her green eyes scanned the screen for a few seconds. "Oh, they'll be here in five minutes."

"They said they'll be here in five minutes?" Chris asked, apparently finding it unbelievable that his friends would know how long they'd take.

"No. But they're in Alicia's house, which means they'll probably take five minutes."

"Oh."

_Oh, _was the only thing going through Massie's mind, too. Five minutes. In five minutes, Massie will meet the people who may or may not make or break her stay here in Westchester. Really, there's only two outcomes here. They become friends, or they become…not friends. And Massie preferred the former.

Generally, Massie always felt uncomfortable meeting new people. Not that she was anti-social, God no. But she never exactly knew what to say. Especially if she was meeting people her age. Older people, well, you could just smile and they'd think you were adorably shy. People your age? Say the wrong thing, and you're out. Say nothing, and you're hailed a snob.

A few minutes later, the doorbell rang, and Chris went out to greet his friends. Massie heard a lot of animated voices talking loudly, and she felt nervous. Strange. Massie has never felt nervous when she met new people. Uncomfortable, yes. Slightly scared, yes. Nervous, no.

"Don't worry, Massie. We don't bite," Dylan said, winking. A few seconds later, the door opened, and a big group of teenagers spilled in. There were twelve, including Chris and Dylan. Wow. Massie never knew Chris had a _big _group of friends. Yes, she had lots of friends back in the city, but she only had five _close _friends. As if planned (which, it probably was), the ten teenagers lined up in a straight line in front of Massie.

"Hey, I'm Claire Lyons," the baby-faced blonde at the left end of the line said. She had baby-blue eyes, which added to the baby face. "And I like gummy worms, even if Kemp tells me that they're filled with drugs and a love potion." You have no idea how weird that sounded to Massie's ears.

"Hey, I'm Cam Fisher," said the black-haired boy beside Claire. This boy had different colored eyes; one was bright blue, and the other was bright green. "And I like giving Claire gummy worms." Now Massie understood Claire's introduction. Massie also noticed that Claire immediately went red. They were probably together, or getting there.

"Hey, I'm Alicia Rivera," said the Spanish girl beside Cam. "And I think Cam's eyes are weird."

"Hey, I'm Josh Hotz," said the Spanish boy beside Alicia. "And I like watching Alicia dance." Alicia blushed, too, and Massie guessed that they were probably together, too, or getting there.

"Hey, I'm Layne Abeley," said a raven-haired girl with bright blue eyes. "And I think it's hilarious that Josh needs a Spanish tutor, considering that he _is _Spanish."

"Hey, I'm Andy Ryan," said a blonde boy with dark blue eyes. "And I'm tutoring Layne in Chemistry, even if her mother's a chemist."

"Hey, I'm Olivia Ryan," said a blonde girl with dark blue eyes who looked just like Andy. "And I can tell you lots of embarrassing stories about Andy, because I'm his twin sister."

"Hey, I'm Danny Robbins," said a brown haired boy with broad shoulders. "And I'm Olivia's neighbor."

"Hey, I'm Kristen Gregory," said a tall dirty blonde haired girl with green eyes. "And I have a soccer rematch with Danny later."

"Hey, I'm Kemp Hurley," said a boy with light brown eyes and curly brown hair. "And I'm betting on Kristen."

"And you are?" Dylan prodded.

"Oh. Um…Hey? I'm Massie Block," Massie said, uncertainty clear in her voice. "And I like introductions that start with 'Hey?'" she said, because she noticed that all of their introductions start with 'Hey,' and that they talked about the person before them, except for Claire, who had to talk about Kemp, because she was the first and Kemp was the last.

"You noticed that?" Kemp asked, a glint in his eye.

"Um…yeah. All your introductions started with 'Hey,' and you talked about the person before you."

"Bam, she noticed! Danny, Josh, and Andy, you owe me five bucks each!" he said, holding out his palm.

"No! She noticed the talking-about-the-person-before-you thing! I win!" Danny said, pushing away Kemp's hand.

"No, dudes, _you _owe _me _five bucks each! _I _win! She noticed both!" Josh said, pushing down Danny's palm.

"Sorry, Massie, for the retarded behavior of my friends," Olivia said, smiling kindly to Massie. "They just get so excited during a bet, and I don't know why."

"Oh, it's fine. No worries, I get it. I have friends back home who love bets, too," Massie giggled uncertainly. "By the way, nice, um…introduction."

"You like it?" she asked.

"Loved it," Massie said truthfully. And she did. She could immediately see the bond between these people, and she could see that they'd be willing to do anything fun, even if some people may call it dorky. Massie just hoped she could be a part of that bond, and not be a thirteenth-wheel.

"Oh, well, it's a game we play whenever we meet someone new. We did the exact same thing to Josh, when he came here at the start of freshman year, when we were fifteen, and to Derrick, who came here when we were thirteen, just before the start of seventh grade," Olivia informed, and Massie looked curiously at Josh. He was new—well, he used to be the newbie, before her—but he looked like he'd been with them since they were kids. Then Massie scanned the group for Derrick, finding no one. She'd always been good at remembering names, and she was pretty sure no one here was named Derrick. Come to think of it, there was no Derrick during the introduction. Maybe it was a nickname for someone?

"Oh, wait. Sorry, I forgot that he wasn't here. He's at home, because his mother grounded him," Olivia explained.

"Why?" Massie asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Well, she didn't exactly _ground _him, per se," Olivia said. "But he just came home from spending the summer with his father in England, and she always does this. She always makes him stay home with her after coming home from England. He's such a momma's boy. You'll probably meet him on Monday."

"Oh, cool."

**Okay, I left it there because I had no idea where to end.**

**So sue me for making Derrick British. But, due to the excessive amount of Harry Potter I've been reading, and Skins I've been watching, I really couldn't help it. And yes, when you do watch Skins for three days straight, you will start thinking and speaking in a British accent, and once you start, you can't stop for a few days. That happened to me, and, well, I thought that if I'd read a book, I'd go back to normal. But, stupid me, I grabbed Harry Potter, forgetting that J.K. Rowling was British. Oh, well. I'm out of it now, but, it was fun while it lasted :) **


	4. life is something in you

**THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG. I REPOSTED CHAPTER FOUR AND FIVE BECAUSE NONE OF MY PAGE BREAKERS WORKED. AND BECAUSE CHAPTER FOUR WAS **_**INCOMPLETE. **_**I POSTED AN INCOMPLETE CHAPTER. OMG. I'M SORRY! Now I get why people were commenting about how they couldn't wait for Massington to meet.**

**ARGH. I HATE FANFICTION RIGHT NOW.**

**-o-**

**WHOOPS. I was reading past chapters to figure out what day Massie met Chris's friends, and I stumbled upon something. In chapter one, I said that her aunt's name was Sandra, but in chapter two it became Kate. So, yeah. It's Kate. Sorry.**

**Okay. So. I changed my mind about this story. It's not going to be some deep dramatic shiz. It's going to be more of a…lighter story. I've wanted one of those; a 'go with the flow' story...do you get it? I promise I'm gonna try my hardest to make it not suck ;) And, maybe I'll write it in first person, I'm not sure…I always find it more entertaining(and weirder) when I write first person. I think it's because I'm an extremely talkative person…yeah…I'm going to tone that down when I write…but, yeah…I'm gonna edit the first three chapters someday…or not…I don't know…maybe when I'm not so lazy…yeah.**

**Let's get on with it, shall we? **

_**at least you think that life is something in you**_**  
(**California bound – Carolina liar**) **

"Massie!" Chris yelled loudly from the door. "Wake up!"

Naturally, I pretended not to hear him. I counted each of my inhales and exhales, making sure they were even.

Oh, the effort I put into faking sleep.

"Come on, Massie, I know you," Chris said, and I could feel him coming closer. "I know it's a bad habit of yours to fake sleep."

In my defense, I'm not a morning person! And it was too early to be awake!

I hate waking up during school days.

"Massie," Chris said, shaking my shoulder.

I hate it when someone shakes your shoulder to wake you up; I mean, you can't really pretend you're still asleep, can you?

"Go away," I said, keeping my eyes closed.

"If you don't get up, we're going to be late. You can't be late at the first day of school," he said.

"I was late last year," I informed him; it was true. I arrived five minutes after the bell started. I have a bad habit of always being late…

"I don't care," he said, shaking my shoulder again. "Last year, you went to school alone. In a different place. This year, if you're late, I'm late. Or, I could always just leave you here," he threatened. I really didn't care. But I sat up.

"I'm up," I said. "I'm up. Okay? Now, go away."

He stood up, gave me a look, then walked out of my room, not bothering to close the door. I lied back down on the bed and looked at the clock. I had forty-five minutes to get ready; if I slept for five more minutes, I'll have forty minutes to get ready, and that's more than enough. Yeah. Five more minutes.

I closed my eyes and drifted into that state between consciousness and unconsciousness.

Due to instinct, great sense of time, and the fact that I've done this so many times before, I opened my eyes five minutes later. Not _exactly_ five minutes, of course. That would be weird.

Still being too lazy to get up and get ready, I just lay there, thinking of nothing except for the fact that maybe I should stop doing this, and maybe I wouldn't always be late if I wasn't so lazy in the morning. And, just like every day, I dismissed the thought. This works for me.

"Massie!" Chris said, standing in the doorway.

"I'm awake," I said.

"Yeah, but you're not moving!"

I kicked my blankets away and swung my legs off the bed, and got up. "Happy?"

"Ecstatic," he said, going away after this display of my energy.

Well, there was no use lying back down.

-o-

I half-slept in the car ride; I was in that state in between conscious and unconscious again. Although, I do remember stopping by Dylan Marvil's house to pick her up. The first thing she said when she saw me sprawled out on the back seat was: "Not a morning person?"

"Horrible morning person," Chris said.

I didn't bother to say anything.

"She and Derrick could be horrible together," she said as she slammed the car door shut.

Derrick Harrington. You know, this past week, I have been interested in him. I mean, I haven't met him yet; sure, Dylan and the others visited him, like, every day, but I chose to stay at home. Seriously, what would you feel if someone you don't know just came into your house and joined everything you were supposed to do?

So, yeah. Wouldn't you be interested in him too? A boy you've never met, but all your new friends know him and talk about him. Interesting, right?

Yeah.

-o-

When we finally arrived at school, I was almost totally asleep.

Goodness. I should stop sleeping at 2 a.m.

So, yeah. Chris opened my door because I was too lazy to get up. I _was _going to get up; but I was going to get up at the last minute and drag myself around.

"Dude, stand up already," he said, staring down at my face.

"You know, you could carry me or something," I suggested. I wasn't serious—okay, I was slightly serious. And sometimes this thing works. I joke about something that I actually want, and they give it to me! But only sometimes…

"No," he said bluntly.

"Loving family," I said, sitting up and climbing out the door.

I looked around. Hmm. Octavian Country Day High was nice. I mean, I can't really say if I liked it or not, considering I've been here about three minutes. But, yeah. It looked nice; better than the average high school. Yeah.

"What do you think?" Chris said.

"Can't really say yet."

"Massie!" Olivia Ryan said, walking over to Chris and me. "Plovert!"

Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention. Apparently everyone calls my cousin by his last name, "Plovert," because there were a lot of students named "Chris." And all of the people named "Chris" are called by their last names in school.

Meh. I'm his cousin; I can call him whatever I want.

"Olivia," I said, smiling. Out of all of my new friends, the ones that are closest to me are Olivia, Alicia, and, of course, Dylan. For now. I will get close to everyone!

Okay, that was weird.

"Come on," she said, grabbing my wrist. "I'll introduce you to Derrick."

My curiosity just grew again.

Well, I heard him before I met him. "Oh, piss off, Josh," he said. I determined that the person obscured by Josh and Cam was Derrick because, A) I have never heard that voice before and; B) The voice had an accent. And I know that Derrick spends his summers in Britain with his dad; the others told me.

Olivia went right through everyone, who all greeted me as I was dragged. I tried to greet them back.

"Derrick, this is Massie," Olivia said as I said hi to Alicia, which is why I didn't see him yet. I turned my head around to face him when I heard my name.

Okay.

Hmm.

Well.

Yeah.

He was okay looking.

That was an understatement.

It's not like I have a crush on him or anything, but he was cute. Kind of more than cute, actually. Maybe hot. He had really nice looking dirty blonde hair, a strong jaw, and caramel eyes framed by full, light brown eyelashes (did you know that boys genetically have fuller and longer eyelashes than normal girls? I know! It's so annoying!).

"Derrick Harrington," he said, smiling. No. Wait. Smirking. Yeah. It was more of a smirk. A kind of familiar smirk. Derrick Harrington seemed familiar. Like I've seen him before. Somewhere. I have no idea where.

"Massie Block," I said, and I see the slight crease of his eyebrows, which (probably) means that he recognizes me too!

"Hey, have we met before?" he asked.

"Seriously, Derrick?" Olivia asked. "You use _that _line?"

"Liv, I'm serious."

"Whatever."

"I don't know," I said. I'll probably remember later; I won't be able to do anything until I figure this out, anyway. It'll bother me as long as I don't know.

He shook his head slightly and shrugged. "Ah, well. Met you before, met you today, what's the difference, really?"

Nice philosophy.

-o-

I was walking with Olivia to the Admissions Office when it hit me.

I remember Derrick Harrington now.

And, holy shit. No way.

**Mwahahahaha. **

**Is it wrong that I take great pleasure in depriving you of the Massie-Derrick past?**

'**Cause I do.**

**Mwahahahaha. **

**P.S. I'm not sure, but I might add minimal cursing to this; I mean, it's in first person, and well, it just seems more natural to me. Of course, I won't have, like, a curse word every sentence. That would be weird. And what a potty mouth Massie will be. **

**P.P.S. I admit that you just read about my morning habits. It's not a crime to do them. Keeping up this daily routine has taught me a lot about time management. Really, it has. **


	5. don't let memories go

**Okay, this chapter is dedicated to xoxoDDLSG, because she has express permission to call me Bianca. And because her reviews are awesome. Not that the other people's reviews aren't awesome, I mean, all reviews make me smile and make me happy and all that, but her reviews are…applesaucetical! And, xoxoDDLSG –checks profile – Ericka (You don't mind if I call you that, right?) I know what you mean. I'm a little obsessed with talking too! AND I'M WORKING ON OTHER UPDATES! DON'T PRESSURE ME! **

***regains control***

**Oh, yeah, I have to clarify something. In the reviews for the past chapter, people have been telling me that they can't wait for Massie and Derrick to meet…but…they already met last chapter. Yes, it was a brief introduction, but yeah. They already met…**

**Okay, let's get on with the story!**

_**don't let memories go, of me and you**_**  
(**_don't jump – tokio hotel_**)**

Of course.

The world hates me.

Really, I think it does. I think it hates me and it's punishing me for everything I've done.

Nothing. _Nothing_ ever seems to go perfectly well. There will always be something wrong in my life.

You know, sometime last week, I thought, _Hey, this isn't so bad. I'm actually liking this life. Huh. Maybe something is finally going right here._

So, apparently, I jinxed it by thinking _that_, and the world made something wrong.

I mean, seriously. How many Derrick Harringtons are there in the world? _He _can't be the only one. No way. That would only happen if you have some crazy, made up name like Quansemtacinal(which sounds like a scientific term, by the way) Zebrokinaskity(which sounds like a condition that has something to do with zebras).

Quansemtacinal Zebrokinaskity could be the only Quansemtacinal Zebrokinaskity.

(I think I could start naming scientific things and conditions now. Because Quansemtacinal Zebrokinaskity sounds like a condition or a disease or something.)

Anyway, back to the point.

I mean, seriously. What were the chances that I had already met Derrick Harrington?

Okay, so I haven't really met him, I mean, I only knew his name.

To get something clear, nothing really happened between us. Really. I met him before. When I was young. Truthfully, I have tried forgetting everything from before I was fifteen. So, maybe, I succeeded. I mean, I never really _forgot_ everything, but I have successfully blocked them out.

(But, really, how could I forget that smirk?)

Then, Derrick Harrington comes along, and I _know_ he's gonna bring back everything. I mean, _he knows_. He knows about the past that I have tried _so hard_ to block out and I'm _positive_ he's going to ask me about it. Stupid boy.

Okay. I have a plan. STAY AWAY FROM DERRICK HARRINGTON.

Operation SAFDH is now in action.

I know you're confused, but I'm not explaining.

-o-

If only staying away were that easy.

Okay, so this is how my schedule goes.

**TIME__________Monday_____________Tuesday___________Wednesday_______Thursday____________Friday  
8:00 – 8:20____Homeroom__________Homeroom_________Homeroom_______Homeroom__________Homeroom  
8:20 – 9:20____History______________English____________Trigonometry_____Chemistry___________History  
9:20 – 10:20___Trigonometry_________Social_____________History__________Spanish_____________Geography  
10:20 – 10:45__Break_______________Break_____________Break____________Break______________Break  
10:45 – 11:45__Music_______________PE________________Art_____________Home Economics_____Photography  
11:45 – 12:45__Chemistry___________Computer__________Social Studies______Geography_________Chemistry  
12:45 – 1:25___Lunch_______________Lunch_____________Lunch____________Lunch_____________Lunch  
1:25 – 2:25____Algebra______________Algebra____________Spanish__________Algebra____________Trigonometry  
2:25 – 3:25____Geography___________Spanish____________English___________English____________Social Studies**

Yeah, I have a different schedule for everyday. Whatever. I like my Wednesday and my Friday.

I had to choose an elective for everyday, and I chose Home Economics, Art and Photography. Turns out, I needed one for each day, so I was forced to choose _Physical Education_ and _Music_. Oh, gosh, music. On _Monday. _

_Today. _

You know what's worse? We all compared schedules before the bell rang, and guess what? Guess who's in a lot of my classes?

Yeah. That's right.

_Derrick Harrington._

I have at least _two hours_ of Derrick Harrington _every day_.

Including music class.

Why? Why me?

Sure, fine, I'll take him any day. You know what, put him in all my classes! _Except music class_.

Told you the world hated me.

Ah, well. Fuck it. I will just try to live with it.

I can do it.

Just focus, Massie. Focus.

Okay.

I have Layne for Homeroom every day, so I walked with her to the classroom.

"Massie?" she said, snapping me awake from my thoughts.

"Oh, sorry, Layne," I said. "Just spacing out."

"How can you walk and space out at the same time?" she asked me, looking at me like I just licked my elbow (which isn't impossible, by the way).

I shrugged. "I just can."

She looked at me for a moment before shrugging and dropping the subject. "First day of school, we have to sit alphabetically. So I think we'll be pretty close, considering my last name starts with an A and yours starts with a B. Oh, wait, here's a seat plan," she explained, showing me a piece of paper taped to the door. She was sitting diagonally from me; she was to the right of the person sitting in front of me. That's actually a good seat.

We went in and sat down, and my first day began.

-o-

My first period was History with Chris and Derrick.

I sat beside Chris, who was in the middle of me and Derrick.

Ha. That made it harder for him to talk to me.

-o-

During the twenty-five minute break, I walked around school with Olivia and Alicia.

Ha. I didn't even see Derrick.

-o-

Then, of course, it was Music class.

And, apparently, the teacher now was the same teacher the others had last year. So, she knew everyone, except for me.

And then she made me introduce myself.

"My name is Massie Block," I said, and I saw her eyes widen. My heart started pounding. No. Don't think about it, Massie!

"Are you, by chance, _the _Massie Block? Started learning the piano at age two, became a world-renown prodigy at age seven, played in Carnegie Hall at age ten?" she said, an excited gleam in her eye. I involuntarily glanced at Derrick and I saw him give me a challenging look. Oh, gosh, he knew.

"No, I'm not." Lie. "Actually, I get that a lot," I added, after seeing the disappointed look in her eyes. "But I don't even know how to play the piano that well. I only know the basics."

Lie. _Lie_. LIE.

"Oh, well, I'm sorry," Ms. Ardea said, a small frown on her face. "Oh! Since you're new, you can sit by Derrick! Yeah. He's really good at the piano. Oh, wait! He can be your partner for the year!"

_Oh, joy._

I really, really don't need this right now. Ugh. I can feel a headache.

Since I couldn't really _reject _her, I went and sat beside Derrick. He smirked at me.

"Hello, Massie Block," he said. "The girl who _did not_ learn the piano at age two, became a world-renown prodigy at age seven and played in Carnegie Hall at age ten."

"Yeah. That's not me," I said. Why did I even bother? It was obvious that he knew that it was _me._ This is just stupid, Massie. No amount of lying can fool him. He was there. He knew who you were.

"Interesting," Derrick said. "What are the odds of _that _Massie Block and _this _Massie Block having the same, not-so-common eye color, and the same facial features?" He looked down at my hands. "You know, you have nice fingers. Perfect for playing the piano."

I placed them under the table.

Okay. I'm having an internal debate. Admit, or don't admit?

If I admit, I wouldn't have to ignore him anymore.

If I don't admit, he might force me to admit until I crack and everything spills out.

If I admit, I might just save myself from the pain of _that_.

If I don't admit, I still have to lie every single time.

If I admit, he might ask me to play the piano. I'm not ready for that.

If I don't admit, he might ask me to play the piano. I'm not ready for that.

If I admit, he might understand me.

…

Oh, who the hell cares.

"Fine," I said in a whisper. "I am that Massie Block. But don't tell anyone. Not one person."

"I knew it."

"I know you did," I said. "But no questions, and no, I already quit, so I won't play the piano for you."

"You need it for your grade! For my grade, too!"

"You're really good at the piano, right?" I said. He shrugged. "Then I'll 'break' my arm."

"Seriously, Massie, why?" Derrick whispered. "Why'd you quit? Why don't you want to play anymore?"

Okay, Massie, don't you dare dwell on those questions. Steer your mind away.

Due to three years of practice, I successfully did that.

"None of your business," I snapped. "Let's just…let it be, not bring it up again, and get on with our lives, okay?"

He stared at me. I didn't meet his eye. "Fine. But you are not breaking your arm."

-o-

Sometimes, it amazes me how much plans/operations I fail to follow and/or complete.

**Meh. Not my favorite chapter. But it's the best I could do now.**

**Yes, licking your elbow isn't impossible. I have a friend who can lick her elbow.**

**Fun fact? The only reason I updated was so that I could tell you that if you look at my profile, you'll see that I have sixteen stories, sixteen favorite stories, and sixteen favorite authors. HAHAHA I JUST THOUGHT THAT WAS SO COOL.**

**And I had fun making her schedule…**

**Gosh, I am so weird sometimes.**


	6. i'm sorry

**I now know why I haven't updated this story. **

**It's because I'm stuck and I'm not feeling it anymore.**

**So…**

**I'M REWRITING.**

**Yeah, because I've had all these ideas in my head, and it all just doesn't fit anywhere. So, I'm redoing the story. By next week this story would be defunct. As for the new story, I'm committing myself to write at least five chapters before posting anything. Mkay? I mean, it's basically just the same story, just that this time, I'm actually gonna refine the plot and it will actually have structure.**

**So, yes, thank you to everyone who have read and reviewed and favorite-ed and alerted. And I'm really sorry for taking this long to realize that I need a rewrite.**

**Hope you read the new story (:**


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